


The Concordant Hydra

by AuraSweet13



Category: The Blacklist (TV)
Genre: Again ideas bounced off of thebeautifulbadass, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-16
Updated: 2015-08-16
Packaged: 2018-04-14 23:57:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,495
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4585089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AuraSweet13/pseuds/AuraSweet13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Red gives Samar a new name on his list, sometime after the events of "Tom Connolly".</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Concordant Hydra

It was midnight as Great Dean, as he was referred to by everyone in his sect, stepped out into the backyard of the large compound him and his followers lived on. Quite comfortably, if he did say so himself. The moon was bright and full in the sky. He raised the phone to his ear. "Sorry about that." His tone was hushed. "Don't worry, I assure you that you will have what you paid for when you expect it."

"Good." A much deeper voice said on the other end of the line. "Don't let me down." The call ended, and Great Dean hung up before putting his phone back into his pocket. Stretching and inhaling the cool night air, he turned and headed back to the largest building on the compound. He stepped inside quietly and let the door close behind him. He passed a bed where a little brunette girl of about eleven lay sleeping soundly, hair splayed like a halo on her pillow. Smiling, he stroked her cheek. Tomorrow, the preparations would begin for her.

After all, he had a deadline to meet.

 

It was going to rain. Samar Navabi could tell, as she looked out the window of her apartment at the dark clouds that were gathering, the streaks of occasional lightning across the sky. Usually she liked rain, hell she even liked thunderstorms for the most part. But these clouds looked ominous, and just looking at them unsettled her. They turned the sky almost black. Her landline, rang, shattering the silence and startling her enough to make her jump. Tearing her eyes away from the darkening skies, she moved to the phone and answered it. "Navabi."

"Samar." She knew that voice anywhere.

"Reddington." Samar spoke in the same tone. "What are you doing calling me?" Surely he knew how dangerous a thing that was to do? The cabal could be listening in to their conversation at that very moment. The thought scared her, but it was one that she had to entertain.

"Just because I'm on the run, that doesn't negate the arrangement I have with your task force." Red spoke casually; there was not an ounce of fear in his tone. "I have the next name on my list for you. Well, it's not a name so much as a group." Her mind immediately flicked to Justin Kenyon and his followers. "They're called The Concordant Hydra."

"I can't help you, Reddington." Samar told him, though she did want to. "The people who commandeered the task force have me under enough scrutiny as it is, without me drawing more attention to myself by assisting you."

Red continued on as if she hadn't spoken at all. "Their founder is a man who his followers call 'Great Dean'. He's charismatic, calculating. He's charismatic enough that he's converted people to his...religion, as he sees it, just after one conversation with him."

Samar's brows rose. Her curiosity was getting piqued now, and that was never good. "And what exactly does this group do that put them on your list?"

"I was so hoping you'd ask that." If she let herself close her eyes, she could almost picture him smiling. But not with his next words. "Child prostitution, Samar." Her heart contracted sharply hearing this. "There are hundreds of children on his compound, and a vast majority of them are groomed to be sold to the highest bidder."

"That's disgusting." She got out.

"Does that mean you'll help me?" Red asked.

"I'll try my best." She said finally, running a hand down her face in exasperation. She was absolutely convinced Raymond Reddington was going to be the death of her one of these days.

"Fantastic. Happy hunting, best of luck. I'll call you soon." Dial tone.

Samar hung up and placed the phone down once more. Her gaze went to the sky once more. The clouds hadn't dissipated at all, and she couldn't help feeling like they were foreshadowing something. She picked up the phone again and her fingers started to dial like they had a mind of their own. She held the phone to her ear and waited. "Hey, Aram, it's me. Can I ask you to look up something for me?"

"Sure, Samar." Aram told her. "What do you need me to look up?"

"The location of the compound of Great Dean?" She asked.

"I have no idea who that is." Aram told her, sounding concerned. "But I can do that."

"It's better if you don't know who he is." Samar knew that she needed to keep Aram out of this as much as she possibly could, because of the cabal's watch over the Post Office. She could hear Aram typing at the keyboard.

"I found the location of Great Dean's compound. I'll send it to you on your cell phone." Aram said and though he couldn't see it, she nodded. "And Samar? I don't know what you're planning, but be careful."

She was touched by his concern. "I will." Then she hung up and called into work. The only way she would be able to do this was if she called in sick. They were unhappy, but they wished she would get better soon. When her cell phone beeped, she walked over and looked at the address. It was only now that she realized she had no idea how she was going to go about this. Obviously she would take her gun and her phone, in her bag of course. She slid it onto her shoulder and placed both items in her purse. She already had a plan of what she was going to say. Now, if the weather was on her side, her plan should work. She made sure she had everything, pulled on her jacket and shoes, and headed out the door.

A steady drizzle had already started, and Samar found herself smiling as she headed to her car, unlocking it and getting in the driver's seat. She placed her bag in the passenger side, and input the directions Aram had given to her in her phone. She pulled out of the driveway and started on the path the device was telling her. The rain got harsher as she drove. When she was five minutes out, she stopped her car and got out, grabbing her bag on the way. She locked her car and put her keys into her purse, still relying on the phone's GPS.

It didn't take her long to find the compound as a result of the GPS. To say it was huge would be an understatement. There were a lot of long buildings, but she couldn't see them too well past the large fence. Glancing around, she spotted a camera trained on her, a red light blinking. Taking a mental inventory of her outfit without looking down, making sure she didn't look like FBI, she raised her hand in a hesitant wave. Her hair was plastered to her face, her clothes to her body because of the rain.

Right when she thought no one was going to come out to at least see what she wanted, the door of the longest building opened and a shape came out, but it was too stormy and too dark as a result of the weather for her to see. It wasn't until the shape got close to the fence that Samar could make it out. It was a woman, wearing a yellow rain poncho.

"We don't get many visitors, what are you doing out here?" The other woman spoke.

"My car broke down. I've been walking for five minutes." Samar explained, playing demure and soft spoken. "Where am I?"

"You're at the compound of Great Dean." The woman responded. "I'm Kathy, and Great Dean is my husband." She opened the fence and let her in. "Come in, take shelter from the storm." Samar didn't need to be told twice, this was easier than she thought it would be. She let Kathy lead her to the longest building and inside. It was warm, but she barely noticed because of how soaked her clothes were and how cold they made her. She discreetly reached into her purse to check on her phone, but luckily it was dry. Good, she needed that to be the case if she needed back up. There were a lot of people in the building, but when she entered with Kathy, they all turned to look at her, gauging the newcomer. "Come with me, let's get you into some dry clothes." Kathy said. Nodding, Samar followed her through the building towards a door. "You can change in here, I'll be right back with some clothes." She said, and Samar gave a soft smile of thanks as she opened the door and stepped into the small changing room. It wasn't insufferably so, and there was a naked bulb in the room for light. Kathy asked if she was decent, and opened the door to hand her a pale blue blouse and a pair of black jeans.

"Thank you." She murmured, and then the door closed behind her. She quickly shed her wet clothes and pulled on the borrowed clothing. She kept her purse near her even as she dressed. There were too many vital things in there that she wasn't willing to take her eyes off for even a second, given the strange environment. She looked at herself in the mirror. The clothes she wore now didn't seem all that different from her usual style, except the blouse was a brighter color than she was used to. After some internal debate, she pulled her hair into a ponytail so it could dry. Once that was done, she walked out of the small room.

No sooner had she done that, a little girl of about eleven with braided brown hair came over to her. "You're so pretty." She said, shocking Samar.

"Thank you." She said, smiling gently, wondering if this young girl was one of the children Red had told her about. A child prostitute.

"You should come sit with my mom and I." The girl responded and Samar let the girl lead her to a table where Kathy and several other people sat.

"Do the clothes fit?" Kathy asked as Samar sat down next to the little girl.

Samar nodded. "They do, thank you." She kept her purse on her lap.

"I see you've met my daughter Diana." Kathy said with a smile, and Samar turned to look at the little girl in question, who now had a name. Diana. "I almost forgot, what's your name, honey?"

She clearly had to go with a fake name. "Leila." She said. In the next moment, everything went silent, and for a split second Samar was terrified she had made a grave error of some kind. But no one was looking at her, so she followed their gaze.

A man stood there she could only assume was Great Dean, if the looks of awe and dead silence were anything to go by. He was perhaps a few inches taller than Samar herself, with fair skin, short greying blonde hair, blue eyes. He was average weight and build, and Samar knew she could take him if it came down to that. She hoped it wouldn't, but she was nothing if not a master of self preservation. He smiled as he moved among the tables, waving at his followers, and she just barely resisted the urge to make herself smaller.

Surely he wouldn't fault her for needing shelter from the storm.

He sat down next to Kathy and kissed her cheek, then his eyes fell on her. "Who's this?" His tone was amiable, but his eyes were distrustful. She felt like he could see into her thoughts, that he knew what she was.

Kathy came to her rescue before she had to answer. "This is Leila." She said. "Her car broke down, and she needed shelter from the storm. That's all right, isn't it?"

"Of course it is." He kept his eyes trained on her. "I hope you enjoy your time here, Leila."

"I'm sure I will." It wasn't hard for her to pretend to be demure and shy, because he had a very intimidating presence.

Kathy got up, looking first at Diana, and then at Samar. "Diana, I'm going to show Leila around. Do you want to come with us?" Diana nodded and reached for Samar's hand. Samar smiled at her and stood up, still holding Diana's hand. They followed Kathy out of the largest building, after retrieving and putting on their ponchos.

 

Samar walked with them, listening to Kathy's tour. "You're not here by accident, are you?" Samar's heart felt like it had stopped beating as she dared to look at Kathy. But to her surprise, Kathy didn't look angry. Just curious.

After checking to make sure no one was listening in, she shook her head and reached into her bag, carefully showing both mother and daughter her badge before stowing it. "I'm an agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation." She explained in a whisper. Diana's eyes were wide as saucers. "A friend of mine put me on the trail of him and this place. That's why I'm here."

Her surprise intensified when Kathy beamed. "I knew He would send someone to help us!" She clasped Samar's hand in both of hers.

"I'm going to try my absolute hardest." Samar promised. The storm was letting up, and as such she slipped back into the persona she'd been cultivating the whole time she was here. "I should get back, I just needed shelter from the storm. Thank you for showing me around."

"No problem." Kathy said amiably. "Let me take you back to get your clothes." Diana still clung to her hand the entire way back. By now, Samar was sure she was one of the many children who would be sold to whoever wanted to pay for them. But she would stop it before it got that far. She had to.

 

Things felt tense as they entered the long building once more. Samar moved over to grab her clothes, gently detaching her hand from Diana's. She grabbed her clothes and headed towards the door. A hand closed around her wrist, causing her to gasp as she looked over her shoulder. Great Dean was staring at her. "Leaving so soon? But you just got here." His tone was anything but amiable now.

"I just needed shelter from the storm." She responded, and she had to fight to keep up her persona.

"Really? So, it wasn't you I just heard telling my wife and daughter that you're a federal agent?" He asked, causing her to freeze and the others in the room to gasp. Samar wrenched her wrist from his grip and reached into her bag for her gun. But before she could point it at him, he moved quickly, backhanding her hard enough to stun her and knock her to the ground. Her gun slid across the ground in the scuffle, the sound echoing through the silent building. Quickly, she scrambled to her feet. He gestured with his chin, and then suddenly she felt hands on her shoulders.

Instantly, she started to struggle. "Ohoh, we've got a fighter on her hands." A rough voice behind her said, and then suddenly her hands were being roughly bound behind her.

Great Dean roughly gripped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Tell me, Miss Navabi." He had her badge in his free hand. "What exactly brought you here? You're trying to ruin my business, is that it?"

"Your 'business' is illegal." Samar spat, still trying to struggle despite the rope biting into her wrists. His fingers dug into her chin.

"I have an idea, gentleman. Since Miss Navabi tried so hard to derail our business, I say we put her on the next shipment."

She was terrified, but she tried her best to stay calm. "They won't want me."

Samar shuddered a little as Great Dean's gaze roamed over her body. "Oh, I don't know about that." Again, he gestured with his chin. and his two goons picked her up and carried her out the back. Her phone was with her purse. Without her hands free, she couldn't do anything to defend herself. It was late now, the sun had set, and as a result the wind was chilly on her face. She could see the outline of a smaller building.

"I can walk." She snapped, trying to kick out with her feet, but those were soon bound, too.

"We can't chance you running. A pretty thing like you would make us a lot of money." The man carrying her like she was nothing more than cargo-to him, she probably was, come to think of it-spoke. A pretty thing, that was what he'd called her.

"Is it easier, referring to the people you force into this as things?" She asked. He didn't answer. At least in the Factory her feet had been unbound. Having both her hands and feet bound scared her. They were inches away from the smaller building. Her heart was in her throat, and she felt like she couldn't breathe. The other goon opened the door, and the one holding her brought her in and dropped her on the ground, sending pain spiraling through her shoulder. Her hands were unbound, but the door was closed behind her before she could escape, throwing her into darkness. Immediately, she sat up and worked at the rope binding her ankles. It took a while, and her hands were rubbed raw from trying, but eventually, she got her feet free and stood up. Now she had to find a way out.

"Don't bother." She startled at the slightly deeper voice from somewhere behind her as she started to search along the wall for a way out. "I've tried."

"This can't be happening." Samar whispered, feeling her fear intensely for the first time since she found herself in this situation. She made a mental note to slap Reddington if she ever got out of this. "Who are you?" She addressed the strange voice she'd heard only moments ago.

"Daniel Marks, CIA. And you?" The voice responded.

"Samar Navabi, FBI." She wrapped her arms around herself, still wearing the blouse and jeans. "So there's no way out?"

"Not as far as I can tell. The door locks from the outside." Daniel told her. Samar sank to the floor, hoping that somehow she would get out of this.

 

Aram Mojtabai was officially worried. Samar had taken the day off yesterday, he could only assume that her absence had something to do with what she had asked him for help with. 'Great Dean'. But it was 24 hours later, and she still hadn't come in to work.

He excused himself to step outside, where he called Samar's phone. It went straight to voicemail, which only made his worry spike higher. And then he made a decision. He went straight to his car, only dialling the number when he was safely inside. "Mr. Zuma, I need you to put me in touch with Mr. Reddington immediately." He said once the person on the other end picked up. Dembe was clearly reluctant, but Aram wasn't going to take no for an answer. Not when it came to Samar and her safety. "No, Agent Navabi is missing, and I need Mr. Reddington's help. I'm not taking no for an answer."

There was a pause, and at first Aram thought Dembe had hung up. "Agent Mojtabai." He exhaled a sharp breath of relief when he heard Red's voice. "I hear Agent Navabi is missing?"

"Was it you who pointed her to Great Dean?" Aram was in no mood to be polite.

Another pause. "Yes. Is that who you think has her?"

"I'm not sure. What I do know is that she called me exactly 24 hours ago asked me to find Great Dean's location, she takes the day off work, and now her phone goes straight to voicemail when I call it." Aram said simply, shortly. Then he closed his eyes, exhaled deeply to calm himself down, and spoke again. "Mr. Reddington, I need your help."

"Agent Mojtabai, I'm going to give you a location." Red's voice was calm. "I want you to meet me there in twenty minutes." Aram wrote down the directions on a napkin he had lying nearby. "I promise you, we will find Agent Navabi."

Aram knew that, because he wouldn't settle for anything less. What he was scared of was _how_ they'd find her.

 

Aram pulled up to the spot where Mr. Reddington had said to meet, as Red got out of the car. Aram did, too. "Who's Great Dean?" He asked immediately. They were so close to finding her and yet so far. He didn't know how much longer he could take not knowing if she was safe, or even where she was.

"Great Dean is the leader of a cult that specializes in child prostitution." Red's tone was matter of fact, almost casual.

Aram's anger and worry threatened to overwhelm him. "What the hell, Reddington?!" His voice was harsher, angrier, than he could ever remember it. And clearly it startled Red just as much, if his expression was anything to go off of. "Why would you send her into such a dangerous situation by herself?!"

Reddington no longer looked surprised. Nor did he answer Aram's question. "Here's what we need to do."

 

Samar didn't know how much time had passed. There was very little light, so she couldn't even use that to track the passage of time.

The door opened, and the light was bright enough to make her squeeze her eyes shut. But at least now she knew it was daytime. She opened her eyes and saw Great Dean standing over her. "Bind her hands and her feet." He ordered. Samar lashed out as his henchmen tried to grab her. Getting up, ignoring how dizzy the action made her, she shoved past Great Dean and ran. Samar had no idea where she was going, she just knew she had to get away. In her haste, she collided with someone, and that someone grabbed her arms. She started to struggle. "Samar, it's me!" Upon hearing that voice, she stopped, and found herself looking into Aram's warm brown eyes.

"What are you doing here?" Her tone was urgent. "They'll catch you, too."

"We came to rescue you." Glancing over, she saw Red come to Aram's side, gun in his hand. Samar stayed close to Aram as she turned to face Great Dean.

"They can't save you, Miss Navabi." Great Dean told her, his eyes cold.

"No?" Red responded, and Samar watched him point the gun at Great Dean. "I'd like to see you try and stop us."

"The fabled Raymond Reddington." Great Dean looked at him. "I never thought I'd see the day where you're working with the FBI. No matter." Great Dean pulled out a gun and pointed it at Red.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Samar was surprised to see Kathy behind her husband pointing a gun at him. Samar's gun. She came around, still holding it, and moved to Red's side. As she did so, she gave Samar a fleeting smile.

"Kathy, do you even know how to use that?" Great Dean's voice was wavering slightly now. Was he scared?

"No, but I'm not going to." With those words, Kathy handed the gun she was holding back to Samar. "I believe this is yours."

Samar felt much better once she had her gun back in her hands. Closing her hands around it and making sure it was loaded, she pointed the gun at him. "Listen to me, all of you." Her voice carried well. "You don't have to stay here with this man. Obviously we can't force you to leave, but if you don't want to stay, come with us." Because she knew how cults worked, she was fully expecting very few people-if anyone-to go with them. But to her surprise, people did start coming to stand, with them. Most of them, Samar noted, were children. But there were adults too, of course. The smile on her face was involuntary.

"You just can't leave well enough alone, can you?" Great Dean spat, and then he came at her. A gunshot rang out, and he fell to the ground. Samar exhaled sharply, wiping sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.

"Well, I'm glad that's over." Reddington said from her right side.

"So am I." Samar put her gun away, and then slapped him across the face. "So the bad news is, I was almost sold into prostitution last night. The good news is, at least my clothes are dry." Her tone dripped with sarcasm. Red seemed speechless, which had to be a first.

"Samar?" She looked down to find Diana holding the clothes she had worn to the compound last night. "Here." She handed her the clothes.

She smiled gently. "Thank you, sweetie." she looked at Aram and Red. "I'm going to get changed." Without waiting for a response, she walked off, wanting no reminders of the horrible day she had just endured. She changed back into her regular clothes, feeling even better once she felt the leather of her jacket on her arms. Folding the clothes, she exited the change room and went searching for Kathy so she could give them back to her. She found Kathy sitting with her daughter. "Thank you for letting me borrow these, for helping me." She said, holding out the clothes.

Kathy took them back from Samar's outstretched hands, but then placed them aside. "No, thank you. You came here to help us, regardless of whether you would be safe or not. Would you mind if I hugged you?" Startled, Samar nodded and let Kathy pull her into a hug. When they broke apart, she walked back over to stand with Aram and Red.

"I need to call this in, so you might not want to be here when I do." Samar told Red, looking at him. It was clear she was still unhappy, rattled by the whole ordeal.

Red nodded. "Of course. I’m glad you’re alright, Agent Navabi." And then he was walking away.

Samar turned to Aram. "I should've known you'd be the one to figure out something was wrong." She smirked.

Aram looked shy for some reason, but before she could ask why, he moved forward and pressed his lips to hers. Samar melted against him, hands resting against his chest. When he broke for air, her cheeks were hot. "Was that okay?" Aram murmured, and Samar nodded. "So you won't mind if I do it again?" She smiled at his tentativeness and shook her head. Smiling, he leaned in and kissed her again. She had never felt as safe with anyone as she did with him.


End file.
